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April 9, 2021
The mystery pitcher began appearing in my morning box scores during the second half of September 1980. Sometimes he was Valenzuela, others Valenzla, but every time I looked, he had zeroes next to his name. I couldn’t find him in my baseball card set, my
Street & Smith’s Official Yearbook 1980, or my
Complete Handbook of Baseball 1980. All I knew was that suddenly he was one of the Dodgers’ most reliable relievers, a rookie thrown into the fire of a three-way NL West race between the Dodgers, Astros, and Reds.
What I didn’t know was that just over six months later, everybody who was anybody would know the name Fernando Valenzuela and the trail of zeroes he left in his wake. Fernandomania was coming.
January 22, 2021
Don Sutton did not have the flash of Sandy Koufax, or the intimidating presence of Don Drysdale. He lacked the overpowering fastball of Nolan Ryan, and didn’t fill his mantel with Cy Young awards the way that Tom Seaver or Steve Carlton did. He never won a World Series or threw a no-hitter. Yet Sutton earned a spot in the Hall of Fame alongside those more celebrated hurlers just the same. He was one of the most durable pitchers in baseball history, as dependable as a Swiss watch.
Alas, durability does not confer immortality. Sutton died on Monday at the age of 75, after a long battle with cancer. Son Daron Sutton, a former pitcher and broadcaster in his own right, shared the news on Twitter on Tuesday:
Dodgers Hall of Fame ironman pitcher Don Sutton dies at 75 [Los Angeles Times :: BC-SUTTON-OBIT-1ST-LEDE:LA]
LOS ANGELES When Don Sutton joined the Dodgers in 1966, he was the new arm in town. Sandy Koufax was known as the left arm of God. Don Drysdale was known for his menacing fastball, high and tight, if you please.
Sutton took the ball every fourth day.
In the ‘70s, the Dodgers were as colorful as their new manager, Tommy Lasorda. They had a Penguin at third base (Ron Cey), the people’s choice at first base (Steve Garvey), a center fielder who had rescued the American flag (Rick Monday), and wise souls at the outfield corners (Dusty Baker and Reggie Smith).
January 12, 2021
On the heels of a year in which a record seven Hall of Famers died, the baseball world couldn’t get a full week into 2021 without losing another. Tommy Lasorda, the charismatic and voluble manager who piloted the Dodgers to four National League pennants and two championships during a run of 19 full seasons (1977-95) and two partial ones, died of cardiopulmonary arrest on January 7.
The 93-year-old Lasorda had returned home earlier in the week after being hospitalized since mid-November due to a heart condition. He had been the oldest living Hall of Famer since Red Schoendienst passed away on June 6, 2018; that title now belongs to 89-year-old Willie Mays.